Pacifica lays out residential plan for bayfront

CHULA VISTA  The first phase of residential aspect of the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan is underway.

During a meeting in northwest Chula Vista, Sergio Sandoval, senior project manager at Pacifica Companies, updated residents on the schematic design phase for its first residential building, a process in which drawings or renderings illustrate the concept of the overall design.

Pacifica Companies Inc., is a private real estate investor contracted to build residential and retail buildings for the 500-plus-acre plan to transform the Chula Vista waterfront into what city officials hope will be a world-class destination.

Sandoval said that since receiving approval from the California Coastal Commission approval last year, Pacifica has spent the last several months hiring consultants.

“Our goal is to create a unique, modern, luxury, bayside community that complements its natural surroundings,” Sandoval said. “In our design meetings, we’ve been trying to grasp what’s going to influence our landscape architecture. A recurring theme that we come back to is we don’t want to have some arbitrary buildings that have no relationships to the estuary, wildlife setting that it’s in.”

Unlike downtown San Diego, Sandoval said the concept for the residential bayfront area is to build larger, more livable condos.

As far as the development schedule, the design team will submit a series of documents in hope of receiving approval from the city of Chula Vista by December 2014. The documents include coastal development permit, the design review board approval and the preliminary and final engineering development plans.

“December 2014 is an important date for us,” Sandoval said. “That would allow us to start mass-grading the streets in 2015.”

Pacifica estimates the total build out will take 15 years, ending in 2030.

The master plan is a public/private partnership between the Port of San Diego, Pacifica and city of Chula Vista. The Bayfront Cultural and Design Committee, facilitated by the port, was established to give advice regarding the design of parks, walkways, bikeways, cultural facilities and other aspects of the plan.

A land exchange agreement between the port and Pacifica was approved by the Board of Port Commissioners in February 2010.

Pacifica Companies would receive 35 acres of land near J Street, immediately east of the Chula Vista marina. Developments include a 1,500 mid-rise and high-rise residential units, 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail, 420,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial and office space and a 250-room hotel.